Ask a Mormon

[Dez]

[quote author=Clive link=topic=219.msg13114#msg13114 date=1289763677]
True, I doubt many hard Mormons would want to see a movie about a promiscuous man and an Elder falling in love...especially considering the two (IIRC) sex scenes included. It's a very good movie, though - sexy, romantic, and sad all at the same time. I recommend it.
[/quote]
Interesting. If I ever have a chance, I'll watch it. It would probably push too many buttons for my spouse, though, given that his older brother came come from his mission and came out. The family as a whole has never really gotten over that.

[quote author=shadow1982 link=topic=219.msg13093#msg13093 date=1289761270]
My understanding of how Mormonism(?) started is a little sketchy. From what I understand, Joesph Smith was given golden tablets by an angel which only he could read and would translate to people from behind a curtain. These tablets were then lost/disappeared. How much of this is correct and how much am I either oversimplifying things or am completely off base?
[/quote]

Pretty much right on, shadow.

When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he prayed about which church was right for him to choose. God and Christ appeared to him, and told him that none of the churches were right, and that he would found a new faith.

When he got older, an angel named Moroni came to him, and told him about a record buried in a local hillside, made on thin sheets of gold. In the stone box with them was a sword (the Sword of Laban), and a Urim and Thumim, a stone or stones which allowed him to translate the record. After this, the plates were returned to Moroni, their caretaker.

[shadow1982]

How different is the Mormon bible? Is it a completely different book or are there only a few changes from the christian(?) one?

[Dez]

[quote author=shadow1982 link=topic=219.msg13135#msg13135 date=1289765735]
How different is the Mormon bible? Is it a completely different book or are there only a few changes from the christian(?) one?
[/quote]

The LDS church has 4 major texts, all of which are made available to read online:

The Bible, King James Version, Old Testament and New Testament. This means no Apocrypha. There are subtle changes made by Joseph Smith which are added as footnotes. Here is a list, if you want to pull out a bible and see how LDS theology differs.

The Book of Mormon. This is the text translated by Joseph Smith. It is said to contain a record of some of the goings-on in the New World before Columbus, and follows the story of a family who leaves Jerusalem before it is destroyed under Zedekiah (597 BC-ish).

The Doctrine and Covenants. This is more historical in nature, being revelations which were given to Joseph Smith, as well as some documents, such as The Manifesto (the delegation that Mormons would stop practicing the law of polygamy). This is also the book that I refer to when discussing concept like the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89), Mormon dietary laws.

The Pearl of Great Price. Revelations to Joseph Smith of ancient scripture. The account of Moses first seeing God, as well as the Book of Abraham, which Smith is said to have been inspired to reveal as the original version of an Egyptian Book of the Dead which was touring America with a group of mummies. Also included are Smith's account of his vision of God and Christ, as well as the Articles of Faith, an excellent synopsis of Mormon beliefs.

[shadow1982]

Thanks I don't have a bible but have booked marked the other 3 so I can read over them properly.... will probably have lots more questions for you once I start reading them ;D

[Dez]

Welcome!

Here's the front page for that portion of the LDS Church's website. It's a bit easier to navigate from, and also has an Old and New Testiment-- http://scriptures.lds.org/en/contents

[Dez]

And now for something completely different...

Back last summer, the website the LDS church designed for people asking questions about the church, Mormon.org, introduced a new feature--the capability to chat live with missionaries at the MTC. Talk about setting out a welcome mat...

I bring you a segment entitled,

[glow=green,2,300]Trolling Mormon Chat[/glow].

In the beginning, trolling Mormon chat was pretty straight-forward, and brought to you primarily from the folks at /b/:







Then, sometime last month, the missionaries really started to catch on.



....or, at least the smart ones :P



The few and the brave have even seemed to learn to Rick Roll right back.




At the end of the day, though, one very valid point still remains:



For more Mormon Chat Trolls, I'd recommend Helpfeedthetroll.com and the Mormon article from the Encyclopedia Dramatica.

[Maulus]

My Wife and I have had a really good laugh at these trolls Brilliant and +1


M

[Dez]

Hey guys...I realized today that A lot of the newer members don't really know who I am as well as the older ones, particularly in light of the sometimes rather odd mix of respect, humor, and frustration I exhibit towards the Mormon church.

I started to write more about me, but it went long, so I decided to post it in the Meet the Staff thread, instead.

I also wanted to share something that the President Monson, the current LDS Prophet said recently. I don't agree with everything the church says, but I thought that the points in this talk about Charity were very good, and much-needed.

[newgirl24]

The trolls are hilarious.

I chatted with missionary once on that site, and asked legitimate questions about Mormonism. It was very interesting to me. The missionaries pretty much stopped trying when they asked enough questions to find out that I'm living with my boyfriend with no intention to marry him (any time soon, anyway).

[Ophidia]

I soooo wanted to get on here & ask you how magnets work, DR.

Instead, I have a perfectly legitimate question that I found on the artoftrolling, lol.

Is Mormonism primarily an American religion, or has it spread to other countries?